Before getting to the main part of Kamakura, you first arrive at a different station about 25 minutes walking distance away from all of the best stuff. From here you can either connect to a smaller train line or walk, I suggest the latter since there is some great stuff to see on the way. In front of this station (too lazy to look up name) there is a large outdoor market and mostly modern buildings. If I remember correctly, the market was mostly food as opposed to souvenirs with a number of small coffee shop style restaurants dotting the area. The street is very narrow and packed with people so I made a quick run of it, but it was still interesting nonetheless.
In Kamakura there are countless shrines and historic landmarks, close to 25 to be exact, but there is one fairly large one that is a must see...I'm a terrible tour guide...I have no idea what it's called, but it's close to the main downtown area. I happened to just stumble into it and maybe if you go you'll do the same. It's located at the top a large hill and along the left hand side of the street there are pretty decent souvenir shops the whole way to the shrine. It costs roughly 400 yen to enter and it's packed with plenty of photo opportunities and incredible views of the shoreline.
In Kamakura there are countless shrines and historic landmarks, close to 25 to be exact, but there is one fairly large one that is a must see...I'm a terrible tour guide...I have no idea what it's called, but it's close to the main downtown area. I happened to just stumble into it and maybe if you go you'll do the same. It's located at the top a large hill and along the left hand side of the street there are pretty decent souvenir shops the whole way to the shrine. It costs roughly 400 yen to enter and it's packed with plenty of photo opportunities and incredible views of the shoreline.
The beach area in Kamakura is bit lacking, but it's worth a quick stop to break up all of the sightseeing. It's quite small and the dark black sand makes the whole thing quite unappealing.
Daibutsu is the main attraction of Kamakura and it stands about 43 feet high (13 meters...I still can't get used to this whole meters thing). For 30 yen, or $0.30 USD, you can actually walk inside, but it's incredibly disappointing. You pretty much fight your way against people leaving the statue in what is barely enough space for one person to fit into. The whole experience is like being thrust into a mosh pit inside of a tiny metal box. Once inside, you immediately realize that there is nothing to see and turn around 30 yen poorer than when you came in. There is a small souvenir desk with a bunch of overpriced books about Buddhism for the foreigners that get a little too inspired, but I did manage to an awesome key chain for about 400 yen or so.
After you've seen about as much historic stuff as you can take, there is a great hiking trail about a ten minute walk from Daibutsu. You should be warned however that it is a lot longer than it appears. I decided to be adventurous and after about an hour of walking I regretted my decision. About halfway through the trail, there is a very cool looking restaurant and cafe nestled in the woods. I really wanted to stop, but my first priority was finding a way out of the woods because I had to work the next day...and I was broke. I finally came to a clearing which was surprisingly residential. Luckily, another foreigner who lived nearby gave some directions and before I knew it I was right back in the woods. After about another 20 minutes, there was another shine and a fork in the road. There I met three people who helped me find the train station and we stopped at yet another shrine on the way to wash money which is good luck or something. Thanks again to the people who helped me get out of the forest!
The statue itself seems somewhat normal after awhile until you look at the sepia photos nearby with European royalty from hundreds of years ago posing in front and it hits you just old this thing really is. I've heard of people having similar experiences while visiting the Great Pyramids in Egypt as well. When something is built by people, but has outlasted countless generations, it kind of gives you an odd perspective on things.
After you've seen about as much historic stuff as you can take, there is a great hiking trail about a ten minute walk from Daibutsu. You should be warned however that it is a lot longer than it appears. I decided to be adventurous and after about an hour of walking I regretted my decision. About halfway through the trail, there is a very cool looking restaurant and cafe nestled in the woods. I really wanted to stop, but my first priority was finding a way out of the woods because I had to work the next day...and I was broke. I finally came to a clearing which was surprisingly residential. Luckily, another foreigner who lived nearby gave some directions and before I knew it I was right back in the woods. After about another 20 minutes, there was another shine and a fork in the road. There I met three people who helped me find the train station and we stopped at yet another shrine on the way to wash money which is good luck or something. Thanks again to the people who helped me get out of the forest!
So there's that...I'm back. I actually have other posts written on paper but I'm too lazy to work them out on the blog. Tonight I'm going to an Enkai, another work party, and then one more day of work and a company meeting before starting a break until September. The next few posts will probably come around Sunday or so since I may go to the beach on Saturday.
Later - Brad
Later - Brad
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